A DOPEY shop thief who trousered 36 cans of Carlsberg beer in Derry two nights in a row has finally admitted his guilt and now faces possible jail for his crimes.
The police in Derry said that “good old fashioned police work” backed up by the support of technical experts helped to bring the thief to book.
And also with a bit of help from the crook who just so happened to have worn the same pair of Adidas trainers on his shoplifting spree on successive nights.
PSNI Foyle take up the story on their Facebook page: “When a call came in about a male stealing a 12 deck of probably the best larger in the world 
for the second night in a row, Ballyarnett Npt thought not in our patch.
“Sure we would swing by check the CCTV 
recognise the culprit and then sort it out.
“So we called round checked the CCTV and don’t recognise the fella. So, back to the drawing board.
“Having establishing his direction of travel we go back to good old fashion policing methods, Beat Patrol 
and local knowledge.
“During a foot patrol of a neighbouring estate 
we located our man.
“He could be seen clearly in the living room of a property swigging away at his ill gotten gains and wearing the same hat and coat as in the CCTV.
“When he eventually comes to the door his hat 
and coat have disappeared.
“You can’t fool us, so he is arrested 
.
“What was left of the alcohol 
was seized however the others revellers 
present were not too happy.
“It turns out our detainee had the group;s money to pay for the alcohol but he decided to have his beer 
and drink 
it instead.
“Back at custody we don’t have the CCTV available as it was still in VHS 
format.
“This makes Mr Thirsty confident and although he admits the the most recent theft he denies the previous one.
“Given our current position he gets bail.
“Our techie 
guys sort out the CCTV footage and create a comparison album of the two different incidents.
“The system is old and as such ID is tricky, however we can tell the offender is of a similar height and build and is wearing the same Adidas trainers 
each time.
“The day comes for Mr Thirsty to return on bail. I am hopeful 
he is wearing the offending footwear.
“I get the call he is in the enquiry office and when I go down the first thing I notice are his blue Adidas ZX750’s, BINGO.
“Back in custody and faced with the prospect of losing his new shoes 
until the case is dealt with, Mr Thirsty makes a full admission and is charged to court for both counts of thefts.
“He has since been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.”
#ballyarnettnpt #keepingpeoplesafe
#coolgutties #notonourpatch #adidas